In what is regarded as the toughest men’s basketball conference in the country, Purdue is inching closer to positioning itself into an envious spot before the Big Ten tournament.
The top four Big Ten teams at the end of the regular season receive two byes in the conference tournament, and after No. 23 Purdue’s 73-69 win over No. 25 Wisconsin, the Boilermakers (18-8, 12-6 in the Big Ten) have a half-game lead in fourth place. Purdue slipped by idle No. 7 Ohio State for fourth place.
“This (win) is a confidence builder because they are an NCAA tournament team, and a team that won our league last year,” said coach Matt Painter after the game, “We want to build off of our momentum.”
Wisconsin (16-10, 10-9), a team with seven seniors, remains in sixth while the youthful Boilers came to the forefront in the victory.
Freshman Zach Edey scored on a layup, and drew a foul, to give the Boilers the lead for good with 9:30 left in the game, 48-46. It was fellow freshman Jaden Ivey who also calmly knocked down two free throws to seal the Boilermakers’ win with two seconds remaining.
“In the first half I was getting good position (in the post) and when I get good position it usually leads to good things,” said Edey after the game, “Me being able to get easy shots was working and coach thought that too so he went to me a lot at the end.”
Edey finished with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds coming off the bench. Ivey contributed with 18 points and made nine out of ten from the free throw line.
The 7-foot-4 Edey also manned the inside as Purdue outscored Wisconsin 36-20 in the paint.
Purdue finishes the regular season against in-state rival Indiana on Saturday at Mackey Arena. A victory would lock up fourth place and the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament.
